The Best and Easiest Way to Teach Soccer Moves
Easy ways to teach your players soccer moves that they can actually use in real soccer games
A Critical Soccer Skill that Can Greatly Improve Your Soccer Attack

How a 6 Year Old Girl Learned to Blow Past U8 Defenders

Coach Doug's 6 year old daughter plays on his U8 team. She has been playing for him since she was 2 and is better than most 8 year olds.

Doug mentioned that when his team played recently one of the kids on the other team was trying unsuccessfully to do complicated soccer moves. I asked Doug if he taught his players soccer moves and he said that he has never tried to teach "moves" but that his daughter has somehow learned how to blow past defenders (she is 6 and the defenders are U8).

I wanted to share with you my current thoughts on this subject, which is one that many coaches wonder about.

I think for most players, practicing foot skills under pressure and dribbling in traffic while under pressure are much more productive than practicing complicated "moves". Coach Doug's team practices foot skills, lots of dribbling and 1v1 attacking at every practice by playing the Coach Doug and SoccerHelp Premium Practice Games. Most of the Practice Games Doug uses are 100% onball, so his players get hundreds of touches per practice. His daughter has learned to naturally and instinctively blow past defenders by using simple body leans (which get a defender leaning one way), and a change of speed and direction, which when combined constitute a "feint".

The Key to Being Able to Use Soccer Moves Successfully in a Real Game.To be effective in a real match, soccer "moves" must be able to be performed instinctively and without hesitation while under pressure. You can't think about them, you need to be able to just instinctively "do" them. This is called "Motor Memory".

The Best Way to Teach Soccer Moves is by Teaching Simple Body Feints and a Quick Change of Speed and Direction.I believe the best way to teach "moves" is by not teaching "moves", but instead teach simple body leans (feints) that get the defender to lean one way and then a quick burst the other way. A quick change of direction can also be very effective.

How to Teach Simple Soccer Moves that Really Work?Our soccer Practice Games such as Dribble Across a Square teach players to react instinctively and without hesitation while under pressure, and to quickly change speed and direction. If you play our games your players will get hundreds of touches on the ball each practice. The more comfortable a player is with the ball, the more control and confidence a player has, and the easier it will be for a player to beat a defender.

How the Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race soccer practice game can teach soccer attackers to "Blow Past" defenders, Play Faster and Improve Your Soccer Attack. The Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race soccer practice game can easily be used to teach players to one touch the ball into Open Space. That is BOTH a CRITICAL SKILL AND a way of thinking about playing the ball, and is much better than a player always stopping the ball at his or her feet and THEN starting to move with the ball, because stopping the ball usually gives a defender time to close in to defend (one-touch play doesn't give the opposing defenders as much time to close in on the ballhandler). In the Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race soccer practice game, receivers will learn that they can win the game if they one touch the ball into Open Space, because that allows them to play faster. Once players start winning the Game because they are one-touching their receptions into Open Space, THEN all the players will see how important that is and all the players will want to learn how to do it so they can win the game, because if they don't do it they will lose the game. Learning this skill will allow players to BLOW PAST a defender before the defender can stop it (it will catch the defender moving forward and use the defender's forward momentum against him). In this sense, it is one of the most effective "Soccer Moves", and it is one of the easiest to learn. YOU CAN BEAT BETTER TEAMS BY TEACHING THIS. Or, if a team that is not quite as good as yours plays this way and you don't, you will probably lose.

There are 3 times this can be very effective:

When receiving a pass a player can one touch the ball into Open Space as a way to play faster OR to Blow Past an opponent OR to get open for a shot.

When winning a ball, rather than stopping, encourage attackers to try to one-touch the ball past the Defender and run onto it. This will often work because of the Defender's forward momentum.

When a Forward is in scoring range, it can be very effective to one touch (block or pass) the ball into Open Space away from the Defender and then take a quick one-touch shot.

Here is how to teach One Touch Play: When your players are playing the Dribble Around Cone & Pass Relay Race soccer practice game, show the players how they can go faster if they one-touch the ball to Open Space when it is passed to them instead of stopping the ball at their feet. Demonstrate both ways while they watch so they can see the difference. THEN, after each game, talk about what the winning team did to win the game (one-touching passes into Open Space will be one reason teams win) AND also let this be one of your "Tips" about how teams can win this Game. When some of your players start to do this, explain to your players how they can one-touch the ball to Blow Past an opponent or to win the ball. Encourage your players to try it when you play the Win the 50/50 Ball or Be the First Defender 1v1 Attacking and Defending soccer practice game as a way to Blow Past the defender.

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